The Fate of the Fellowship
by Arramiel Greenleaf
Summary: This is primarily a continuation that takes place after the return of the king
1. A Call to Gondor

They all sat waiting patiently in a great circle. It had been quite some time since they had seen each other, and now here they all were. Each member of the original fellowship, save Boromir, sat and waited to hear why they had all been summoned here. King Elessar had sent them each an urgent message bidding them to make hast towards Gondor. And so, they had all come and here they waited. At last after an awkward silence, Aragorn spoke. "I suppose you may all be wondering why it is that I have brought you here." he said soothingly. The looks on the faces of those present confirmed his statement. Indeed they were all very curious. In his message, Aragorn had been unusually vague on the reaons for their journey, but Aragorn has been their leader and he was the king. They would follow him blindly whatever ha asked of them. "All shall be revealed, but it may take some time to explain to you fully." Aragorn continued, " For some time now, we have all been convinced of that fact that evil had finally been defeated, that Middle Earth was safe. Sauran is gone and the ring is destroyed, this is true. Yet the fate of us here may not be so well assured as we may have once guessed for there is a new threat, a new evil. There is a shall I say, apprentice to the Dark Lord. One who wishes to rule Middle Earth, with a crueler heart and more malice than even Sauran, himself . And if that were not enough of an ill fate, there is more. He seeks to avenge Sauran. He sees us as the cause of Sauran's downfall. He will not stop until he has rid the world of the fellowship." A sickening feeling hit Frodo. Once again he was a target to evil forces, and if that was not enough, he was injuring those dearest to him as well! "Why most they pay too!! It was me, I was the ringbearer they should not have to pay!!" Frodo thought to himself. "There is more. We cannot remain here for long. The enemy has learned of our meeting. He is coming to Gondor. We have time, time enough to gather what we must and depart for a safer location." Aragorn explained. "How do you know this?" asked Legolas. "Because I was given a warning." Replied Aragorn. He pointed to the corner of the room. There was a lady standing there whom no one had seemed to notice. She was an elf maiden, tall and slim and quite fair. She had long, flowing brown hair and emerald eyes like none any of them had ever seen. Her long while cloak was draped around her as she stepped forward. "This is Arramiel. She is the sister to Celebron of Lorien. She is to aid us on our journey. Lothlorien is our destination." Explained Aragorn. Suddenly Arramiel grew very pale. She rubbed her head in pain and fell to her knees. Legolas stood to aid her, but she held up a hand to stop him. "No, I am fine." She managed to gasp. In a dew moments the pain faded and she stood again. "Arramiel? What did you see?" asked Aragorn. "You must leave now. You have no time. He is nearly here. We must go now. He is coming for you!" 


	2. Journey to Lorien

Frodo was not sure what exactly was going on. How did this lady know they were near, and what was to happen if he should arrive before they had departed for safety? It was a though he did not care to know the answer to. "Very well. Me may trust that Arramiel is right for she has a unique ability to see things no other can, and some things that have not come to pass. I have some provisions for us, and I fear there is no time for us to gather anything else. If Arramiel says me must leave now, then me must." Said Aragorn gravely. Aragorn stood and he and Arramiel began to exit the room. The others of the fellowship followed his lead. "Is Arwen not coming with you?" asked Arramiel. "No, I would not wish her to be in danger as well. In fact I do not know I am completely comfortable putting you in danger as well." Replied Aragorn. "I have seen worse trials, I do not fear him nor what he might do. You need my help and I shall see that you have it." She replied. The group exited towards the gates of Gondor where five horses stood waiting. "I fear no more horses could be spared, so some of us must walk or ride together." Aragorn explained. "I do not need a horse. I can manage on my own feet." Said Arrameil politely. "Nor do I." Added Legolas. "Well. Merry and I surely will not mind riding together!" exclaimed Pippin. "Then it is settled. You all take the horses, Arramiel, Legolas and I shall walk. And so, once again, the fellowship of nine set out on their journey. "Pardon my asking, but where exactly are we going?" asked Pippin. "We shall head to Lothlorien for we may be safe there for some time." Aragorn explained. The group traveled a great distance on their first day. They rested little until it was long after dusk. The sky was black and no moon shone that night. There was no sense in going any further for they could not see their path. So finally Aragorn announced that they would be making camp for the night. Gimli went off in search of fire wood while many of the others simply sat on the ground. Legolas looked up at Arramiel and noticed she looked rather weak. "Are you alright? You look awfully pale." He said. "Yes, I am alright. It's just that my vision this morning took quite a lot of my energy." She explained. He could not be sure what, but there was just something about her that Legolas found intriguing. "I have traveled many of the areas of Middle Earth, and have before been to Lothlorien. How is it that I have never before seen or even heard mention of you?" asked Legolas. "I have spent much time away in the lands of Dol Amroth. If you have never traveled there, perhaps that is why you know me not." Arramiel replied. Gimli returned with wood and a small fire was lit. A few vegetables were cooked and distributed sparingly. "I do not need any. Our provisions are few enough. Let someone else eat mine." Said Arramiel refusing her plate. "You should eat something. You are short on energy as you said yourself. I would feel better if you took it." Said Legolas "Legolas is right, Arramiel. We have plenty for the time being." Added Aragorn. Feeling not it the mood to argue further on the issue, Arramiel reluctantly took the plate. When everyone had eaten there was little more to do or even say. Many of them were so lost in their own thoughts on everything that had occurred today that talking just had not occurred to them. One by one the members of the fellowship slowly drifted off to sleep. Frodo went into a restless sleep filled with dreams, or rather nightmares, of things from his past. His whole encounter with the ring of power came painfully rushing back. Arramiel too did not sleep well. Her mind was troubled with shadows growing in her mind. She could sense danger, but it was shrouded in shadow and even she could not sense what or where the source was. It troubled her greatly. She awoke from her sleep feeling a sudden strike of terror. She saw everyone else still deep in their slumber. She slowly stood and walked to the edge of the clearing where the camp was. A small creak could be heard a few yards away. Seeing as dawn was approaching and the sky was beginning to brighten, she slowly walked towards the sound of the babbling water. She approached the creak and bent to splash some of the cool water onto her face when suddenly she was attacked from behind. She fell to the ground , but was immediately pulled up by whatever had attacked her, and she had yet to see what was. She let out a shriek as she kicked wildly at her captor. Aragorn awoken by Arramiel's cry saw she was no longer at the camp. "Wake up!" he shouted in order to attract the others attention. Legolas stood up at Aragorn's command. There was another cry from Arramiel. The pair went running towards the cry. The other members of the fellowship slowly followed. They ran towards the creak and saw a large group of orcs coming towards them. One was dragging Arramiel with it. Aragorn drew Anduril as Legolas pulled out an arrow fromhis quiver. He shot at the orc holding Arramiel whilc Aragorn ran in and began battle with any of the orcs. The orc holding Arramiel fell when the arrow struck it and Arramiel ran towards Legolas. "I need a sword!" she exclaimed. Legolas drew one of his long knives and handed it to her. By this time the other members of the fellowship had arrived and had begun there part in fighting off the orcs. Arrmiel took the knife and also began to attack the orcs. She was very well trained, as good as even perhaps Aragorn. The battle was long, and for as many orcs as they killed, that many more seemed to appear. They were finally making progress, but were quickly growing weary. Arramiel raised her knife to slash an orc, when an orc off to her side slashed her across the ribs. She let out an immense cry of pain as her knife fell to the ground. Aragorn glanced up at her hearing her cry. Legolas too looked up to see Arramiel fall to her knees. He ran in her direction violently stabbing any orc in his way. The others came too. Arramiel was unable to fight and they had to keep the orcs away from her. When Legolas reached her he dropped his kife and knelt on the ground beside her. Slowly the orc's numbers decreased. Then at last they were all slain. Aragorn rushed over to Legolas and Arramiel. Legolas had lifted her and she lay against his chest. Her dress was covered in thick crimson blood. Aragorn knelt to examine the wound. "No!" he sighed with a grim look on his face. Legolas looked at him, stricken with worry. "She's not going to die, is she?"  
  
To be continued. 


	3. Detour to Rohan

Aragorn's face did not look promising, and he had yet to answer Legolas' question, which Legolas could plainly tell was not a good sign. He bearly knew Arramiel, but something inside made him feel sick at the thought that she may leave them so soon. How unfair it would be, that when at last he found someone he found it so easy to talk to, that she would be taken from him. The notion made his stomach turn with knots and he hated to linger on the thought. Aragorn tore off a long strip of the cloak which he wore and wrapped it tighly around Arramie'ls waist. It would not do much use, but at least for the time being it could serve as a temporary make-shift bandage. Gandalf joined Aragorn and knelt on the ground beside him. "What are we to do? We are too far now to turn back, but I fear she can not make the journey all the way to Lothlorien. The enemy is in pursuit of us and must have by now followed our trail after realizing we no longer dwell in Gondor." Said Aragorn. "I fear now we are all in a greater danger, for orcs are certainly a sing of the enemy's proximity to us." "What of Rohan? Could she make it so far? We might journey to Rohan and leave her there where she may be aided, and then contiune on to Lorien." Suggested Gandalf. By now, Arramiel was barely conscious, and already blood had soaked the entire way through the bandage. "We have no other choice. Fetch the horses quickly! We must leave for Rohan at once!" announced Aragorn. "I shall walk now. The use of Shadowfax shall be given to Arramiel, but alas she cannot ride for she is scarcely awake. One of us must ride and hold her." Explained Gandalf. "I shall ride with her." Volunteered Legolas. When all was settled they quickly mounted their horses and set out. Legolas sat atop Shadowfax, and Arramiel sat in front of him leaning against him. The journey was dismal and scarcely a word was spoken. The attack by the orcs was a painful realization of the danger they were in. Merry and Pippin each sat atop their horse in a painful silence. Even Sam, who was usually the one best suited for lightening the mood, said nothing. Their progress was slow through the wooded areas, yet there was no time for rest. When all was dark, Gandalf risked the light of his staff to guard them through without the need to wait until the light of morning. As they went Arramiel seemed to grow worse. Blood continued to seep though and cloth then would use as an attempt to bandage it, and she slowly began to develop an ever increasing fever, which was uncommon among elves. Her condition was grave, yet there was not one among them with the means or abilities to aid her. Aragorn was an experienced ranger, and he could heal many wounds or illness, but the situation was far to severe. Deep in the back of his mind, he knew Arramiel was not going to survive. It was a painful thought to him, as he had know her long, but more so the thought of what Arwen would do, for she and Arramiel had been very close friends. The night dragged on without any sign of the enemy of his servants. The pale light of day slowly made its way across the sky. They had made much progress that night, as compared to how far they would have come had they stopped to rest during the night. However, they were still many days from Rohan. They were all very weary, but they could not stop for there was no way of knowing how far behind them the enemy was. For days they traveled and no one rested save Merry and Pippin, for with two on their horse one was able to rest while the other lead the horse. Finally, the outskirts of Rohan could be seen. A small village could be seen, though odd as it was, it was not a village any of them recalled ever have seeing. Seeing how desperate their situation was, Gandalf decided it was as good a place to stop as any. They entered the small village. A large house sat at the end of a small dirt path. It seemed to be the only house occupied, for the others were all dark and dusty without a sign of anyone. They approached the house and heard faint voices from inside. They dismounted and walked to the door and tapped on it softly. From inside foot steps could be heard approaching the door. Slowly it swung open to reveal a most surprising face. It was Faramir and close behind him stood Eowyn. "Aragorn!" Faramir exclaimed with delight. Aragorn had many questions, mostly as to why he and the Lady Eowyn were there, but there simply was no time. "I am sorry Faramir, we have time not to spare. We must depart at once for Lothlorien, but I request your aid. One of our company is wounded, wounded to severly to make it to Lothlorien. I bid you might keep her here and aid her for her condition is grave." Said Aragorn swiftly. Faramir too was left with many questions, but her could hear the urgency in Aragorn's tone and felt it best not to ask them. "Of course we shall help you, dear friend. Whatever you need of us consider it done." Replied Faramir. Aragorn and Legolas entered the house. Seeing Arramiel's body drapped across Legolas's arms, Eowyn gasped, but quickly motioned them to a room. They entered the room and Legolas lay Arramiel down on the bed. "Forgive our hurry but I fear we must leave you now." Said Aragorn. "Wait, one of us aught to stay here. When she awakens she will mostly likely be confused and a kind familiar face would be of great comfort to her, would it not?" suggested Legolas. "Indeed it would, but if one were to stay, they would be in great danger." Replied Aragorn, not having the heart to tell him that he did not expect her to ever awaken. "I shall risk the danger. He said. It is not use to reason with me for I have quite made up my mind. We will join you in Lorien as soon as she is well and that is all." Said Legolas quite resolved. Seeing there was no sense to protest Aragorn agreed to let him stay. Then he said his quick good byes and left the house. "Legolas is resolved to stay here as well." Said Aragorn when he returned outside. "Then I too shall stay. Whatever fate my comrade shall face, I will share it. " announced Gimli dismounting his horse. Aragorn was quite against it, but time was short and the was not the time to argue. And so, once again the fellowship parted its ways and was divided. However the worst was not over. Aragorn felt that the fellowship was to continue to suffer loss, and that this division may not be temporary. He knew evil was coming, and his only hope, was that it did not find Legolas and Gimli. The fellowship had once been broken, and he could not bear it if it were broken again. 


End file.
